Friday, July 24, 2009

Open Thread: Oregon Brewers Festival

Well, here I am in muggy Minnesota, far from Waterfront Park. The only taste of the Fest I'll enjoy this year will be vicarious, so I am appealing to those of you who do go to let me know what's happening. If you're at or have been to the Fest, let me know what you see, will you? I'll keep this post at the top of the blog through Sunday--please comment!

10 comments:

I'm a fan of darker, richer tasting beers. I have my sample list already drawn up and walked into the OBF knowing right where I wanted to go. I had a my mug in one hand and a historical account of Thomas Cochrane the British Frigate Captain in the other.

I'm not particularly good at describing or talking about beer so here are my layman's thoughts:

Bitch Creek ESB from Grand TetonThis was a winner in my book. It had a rich, complex tast yet I didn't pick up a coffee or mocha after taste which I find often happens with darker beers. To me, it tasted like a hybrid between a stout and an Ale. Perhaps that's why I've heard ESB's referred to as "balanced." Of the three I tried today, this was my favorite.

Bayern's Dragon BreathWith an aggressive name like "Dragon's Breath" I expected this one to be a rich and savory brew but was disappointed. To me, it seemed bland. Perhaps people who like a milder beer will enjoy this one, but I did not.

Terminal Gravity's FestivaleBudweiser advertises its beer's drinkability (that's a four letter word in my book). Festivale is the antithesis of this. Festivale requires that you sit and contemplate its dark, full bodied flavor. This is not a beer for someone who is thirsty. It is a little sharper tasting than the ESB and all but requires serious contemplation as it sits in your mouth. It was a little on the "heavy" side for me but was a treat nonetheless.

Hit it at around 12:30pm today - light crowds, zero waits on anything from the beer lines to the food lines to the water-rinsing-station lines. Immediately rolled to the Parade Keg - the Bourbon Amber from Full Sail (standard amber held in bourbon barrels). It was an interesting opening sip - caramel notes on top of extremely favorable amber.

Sampled 13 beers. Top two of those were the Stumptown Tart (very smooth - flavors were all in place and rolled together nicely), the Loser Pale Ale (strong peach smell, floral taste - like a first cousin of the Jasmine IPA. If this is Sorachi, I am an immediate fan). Would recommend those two to anyone heading in this weekend.

Hi all. Roy here from Mayor Sam Adams' office. Thanks for the open thread. Mayor Adams was honored to be honorary grand marshall for the Brewers Festival Parade, and I wanted to share a link with you to a video we put together for yesterday's celebration. Cheers.

I got a taste of it at Belmont Station last night… again, not a hop head, but I could see that those who were so inclined would like it. I, OTOH, really love their Trippel.

Also got to try Boulevard's entire lineup (sans IPA's) at Belmont, and prior to that enjoyed HotD's "mini-FredFest" (so coined), where they had [Bourbon] Fred [from the Wood] [Flanders] pouring… best line of the show:

Fred Eckhardt: This gouda is really good, where did you get it?Alan Sprints: Costco.Fred Eckhardt: I've searched the world over for small craft cheeses, and I come here and get Costco.*

*Not a direct quote, but something to the effect… the gouda was really good.

Later I plan to attend Fanno Creek's nano-brewfest… still have yet to step foot into OBF.

"*Green Flash Brewing Co / Green Flash Imperial IPA - "DO NOT DRINK THIS" a bad keg or something... it was way off. and you can tell what it was meant to be... but something just happened... it's too bad really... they are one of the better brewers of fine IPA's..."

"There was some consensus at the OBF media preview that our sample of the Green Flash might have been off, especially since some of us tasted it Tuesday at the Green Dragon and found it to be a wholly different and drinkable beer. So, you might choose one volunteer from your posse to get a taste and see if it's OK."